File photo

With the conference championship on the line, the St. Bernard’s Crusaders got Tuesday’s game at South Fork off to a strong start and made it count.

The SB boys opened the night with a 10-0 run, and even though the Cubs would battle back to tie the game, the visitors would run out to a 65-49 win.

The victory secures the Little 4 championship outright for the Crusaders, who improved to 5-0 in conference play and 18-4 overall.

The L4 title, which is the Crusaders’ second straight, also secures a top seed and a first-round bye for next week’s Dick Niclai tournament.

“The boys and coaches are proud to have won a league championship,” St. Bernard’s assistant coach Pat Shanahan said. “And we will get in the gym tomorrow and start prepping for Hoopa Thursday.”

Liam Dyer continued his MVP caliber season with another big night in the win, finishing with a double-double.

The junior guard scored a game-high 29 points and added 12 rebounds and five assists.

Teammate Carson Costa also continued to impress and added 10 points, while Garrett Shanahan had nine points and nine rebounds.

“Liam shot the ball well and was also a force on the boards,” said Pat Shanahan, who added “Garrett and Carson complemented the team well with their play.”

Despite their strong start, the game remained in the balance until the final quarter.

“Finally in the fourth quarter we stopped turning the ball over, slowed down and made the extra pass,” Pat Shanahan said. “That was the difference in the game.”

Wesley Way scored a team-high 17 points for the South Fork boys, who dropped to 2-3 in conference (11-10 overall) but still can finish second in the L4 and get a home game for the opening round of next week’s Dick Niclai tournament.

Trevor Hunt added 10 points in the loss, while Zakunda Fansler finished with nine points.

File photo – The South Fork Cubs

“Got to say I think we really showed a lot of improvement and battled a ton with St. Bernard’s for the whole game,” South Fork head coach Taylor Morrow said. “We just couldn’t make enough plays to really get over the hump and go on a run.

“They’re a tough team and good luck to them and the rest of their season.”

Martin Navarrete added six points for South Fork.

Tyler Hinrichs and Trenten Hager also impressed for the visitors.

Hinrichs finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, while Hagler had five points and five rebounds.

“Tyler battled down low and played great defense,” said Pat Shanahan, who added “Trenten played patient and cut extremely well.”

Prince Latimer also had four points and four rebounds for St. Bernard’s, while Shawn Schmidt added four points for South Fork.

“South Fork never let up,” Pat Shanahan said. “They played really hard and forced a lot of turnovers with their defense.”

Tuesday’s other scheduled Little 4 game between Ferndale and Hoopa was postponed until Friday because of the weather.